


Seventh Earl, Seventh Son

by Flashingsunsetgreen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Cardverse, Characters that have probably never interacted interact, Gen, Hetabang 2020, It's one-sided and very silly, Japan (Hetalia) - Freeform, Liechtenstein (Hetalia) - Freeform, Lithuania is Tolys not Toris, Mentions of Death, Minor America/North Italy (Hetalia), Minor Character(s), North Italy (Hetalia) - Freeform, Russia (Hetalia) - Freeform, Spades-centric, france (hetalia) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24255460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flashingsunsetgreen/pseuds/Flashingsunsetgreen
Summary: Tolys Laurinaitis, Seventh Earl of the Duchy of Clubs, often declared he would never leave home. Unfortunately, being at the Joker’s beck and call often had him traversing the Cardian dominions, attaining respect and esteem. Despite the troublesome and stressful reasons behind certain errands, Tolys could never truly say no to harmless requests, even if they came from the most troublesome figure in all society.This last one might just change that.
Kudos: 4





	Seventh Earl, Seventh Son

**Author's Note:**

> This tale takes place in a modified, steampunk Cardverse Au, which may be confusing while you read, since I don't use the usual titles. Rest assured, all you need to know is the original King, Queen, and Jack characters - I just call them different things. Everything else I hope to clarify in the text.  
> 
> 
> This was written for Hetabang 2020. I am very glad to have participated in this event, even if I stressed and procrastinated and stressed some more. It's been a hot minute since I've written anything, and longer since I've published, but now I'm being held accountable and thus, must produce. It's been great.  
> 
> 
> Many thanks and much love to my Hetabang partner (you know who you are) for being very sweet and very patient with my shenaniganery. I am looking forward to seeing all you make for my little story. :)  
> 
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy "Seventh Earl, Seventh Son."

_Never again, he thought to himself.  
_

__

_No more trips, no more excursions, no more favors, no more errands, no more._  


__

_Crumpling the already wrinkled parchment in his hand, eyes stinging, he repeated the phrase over and over, an angry, desperate prayer._  


__

_How could he?_  


__

_Never again._

The Duchy of Spades was much emptier as a whole than it advertised itself, resembling the more uninterrupted plains of the Hearts dominion with its long stretches of farmland. As dotted by the growing towns and cities as it was, from up high, the green fields dominated the Spadian landscape.  


Tolys considered it all the better; he wasn’t particularly fond of the busier hubs with the constant noise and general presence of activity. He would admit to enjoying the occasional night on the town, occasional being the key word, but he much preferred the tranquil settings of rural living.  


As the airship’s engine hummed in the distance, Tolys lost himself in the vision of the clouds beyond the window, the breadth of them, their shapes, the thickness of their layers of celestial wool. The cafe around him had filtered out the breakfast crowd, with only the murmurs of the staff and the few stragglers left behind as ambiance. Tolys reveled in the quiet, mind drifting further and further into the view outside.  


Millions of thoughts whispered in his mind, dropping their musings and messages both from frequented and untouched corners of his consciousness. Tolys recognized figures in the clouds: the insignia of each of the four dominions, his family’s animal crest, the Duke of Clubs’s dreadful wax seal, the small pot of flowers he received from a villager on a trip to Diamonds. He spotted Felix’s favorite pin, a bowl of his favorite soup (perhaps it was just a bowl, but Tolys wanted to think it was his favorite soup), the present box with a large red ribbon he received from his most recent trip to Hearts, the Joker’s seal…  


_Ugh._ The Joker. Tolys grimaced at his half-empty cup of coffee, thoroughly snapped out of his blissful reverie. Everything circled back to the Joker lately, somehow, someway, including this latest task. Always with a finger in the pie, or several, wasn’t he?  


Soured, Tolys quickly finished his cup, leaving the pay and tip behind. Speaking of this week’s “pie,” he needed to check on his wards.

“Do you think ‘Gilbert’ will meet us again when we’re back in Spades?” A hopeful gaze met Tolys’s watchful one, and Tolys bit back a scowl at the mention of the Joker.  


“That depends on him,” Tolys said.  


“Yeah, but do you think?” Peter asked again, swinging on a low bar. “He was a lot of fun.”  


Tolys shifted uncomfortably on the wooden bench nearby, scanning the gymnasium for any potential eavesdroppers. The other passengers are occupied with their own activities for once, and so Tolys switched his attention over to Peter, who with the nimbleness of a wiry ten-year-old, performed a few flips on the bars.  


“I told ‘Gilbert’ about my goat when he was with us. She’s not my pet, see, but she really likes to stay in my rooms. Arthur says it’s because they’re so filthy, but he’s a lying jerk.” Peter did another flip, hanging from the bar upside down.  


“You shouldn’t call your brother a jerk,” Tolys said automatically.  


“Jerk Arthur is a jerk, so that’s what I’m calling him.” Peter flipped again, landing on the floor. “You don’t have any brothers, Tolys, so you wouldn’t get it.”  


“No, but I have family. Either way, you shouldn’t call people ‘jerks,’” Tolys responded. “You don’t want to upset someone and get in trouble for it.”  


Peter frowned. “Well, I get in trouble, anyway. Doesn’t matter if I actually did something or not.”  


Tolys felt a sly smile bloom on his face. “You’re naturally inclined to mischief, aren’t you, Peter?”  


“Am not.” Peter huffed. “I just like adventure!”  


“Yes, of course,” Tolys said amidst a few chuckles.  


“So, do you think we’ll see ‘Gilbert’ again soon?”

Leon flipped through the pages of his novel non committedly, eyes surveying the lines but not reading a word. Tolys recognized that gaze - the stare of a deathly bored schoolboy, forced to spend his time reading the latest literature assignment for his curmudgeon of a teacher. He tapped the boy’s shoulder lightly.  


“I’m sure you can amuse yourself with something other than schoolwork for a short while,” Tolys said, smile inviting.  


Leon frowned. “There’s nothing to do other than my assignments,” he said. “I can’t even go to the recreational lounge, unless I want to get stared at.”  


Ah, yes. Tolys kept a scowl from his face. What an immense bother, he thought, that the Joker insisted on one of the most public transportation methods for the heirs of the House of Kirkland, Spades’s ruling family. A passenger airship, and an extravagant one at that, full of zealous individuals more than peached to get an opportunity to sit in the same room as nobility was the best option for two boys?  


_What could he possibly want from this?_  


“Peter is doing well out there,” Tolys said, opting for a more positive approach. “Despite the constant stares, he’s entertaining himself well enough.”  


“Peter’s a kid,” Leon insisted. “He doesn’t pay attention to anything around him.”  


“He pays enough attention,” Tolys countered. “He simply chooses not to care, which you’ve done, too.”  


Leon squinted at him, face scrunching in the dramatic manner young men of his age had the habit of doing, although it featured much more subtly of Leon.  


“Yeah,” Leon muttered, and shut his book.  


“Would you like to join Peter and I in the lounge? We can play cards while Peter sketches something for his art assignments,” Tolys asked, waving a deck of cards he had pulled from his pocket. “The lounge is usually empty at this hour.”  


“I can’t do my homework, but Peter can?” Leon retorted, rising from his chair. “Okay, then.” 

“Do you have the seven of leaves?”  


“No. Go fish.”  


“How do you never have any leaves? I know I shuffle the cards well.”  


It was their third round of Go Fish, following two rounds of War and one of Old Maid. Tolys was rather embarrassed to admit he knew very few card games, especially to Leon, who boasted besting the Lord and Lady Major of Spades in several rounds of poker on the Lord’s birthday. He had claimed over twenty gold coins, fourteen silver coins, a sapphire pin, the Lady Major’s favorite fountain pen, and the Lord Major’s prize mare - they were both drunk and out of money by the latter half of the game, Leon said.  


Tolys was mortified.  


“He doesn’t have any because you never ask for the right ones.” Peter peered over Toly’s shoulder, large notepad in hand, pencil tucked behind his ear. “You’re too smart for Go Fish. Why are you playing it, anyway?”  


“Because you take too long on your assignments,” Leon said, taking a card from the pile and grimacing at it. “And Earl Tolys doesn’t know how to play anything else.”  


“I’m sorry,” Tolys said, smiling. “I never had many opportunities to learn. Do you have the ace of roses?”  


“Ah… nope. Go fish.”  


“Why didn’t you learn any card games, Tolys?” Peter pulled up to a chair next to him, eyes still pointed at Tolys’s hand. “Didn’t anybody teach you?”  


Tolys added his drawn card to his hand. “I did learn a bit from my old friend, but he didn’t know much and we didn’t see each other very often. We also preferred playing chess.”  


“I don’t like chess. Leon always beats me whenever we play it. I like dominoes instead.” Peter shot a small glare at Leon, who sighed while surveying his cards.  


“That’s because you don’t think about your moves. Do you have the eight of chalices?” Leon returned the pithy stare.  


Tolys chuckled. “No. Go fish.”  


“Damn. Oh, wait. I got a pair!”  


Peter blew a raspberry, then turned to Tolys, scooching closer. “You have to beat him now, so I’m going to help you.”  


“There isn’t much strategy to Go Fish, Peter,” Tolys said, smiling at the determined glint in the boy’s eyes.  


“You’re gonna lose, Leon!” Peter declared this triumphantly, and Leon rolled his eyes.  


“Do you have the four of chalices?” Tolys asked, laughing mirthfully.  


“Yeah. Damn.” Leon passed over the card.  


“You shouldn’t swear, Leon.”

“We are transferring onto the Kirkland private airship when we land at the port,” Tolys said, reading off a paper in his hand. “Make sure you keep your trunks on hand; we need to leave quickly so as to not attract too much attention when we disembark.”  


The boys nodded as they folded and packed their trunks and satchels. They remained quiet, the full fatigue of the journey falling on them.  


Finally, thought Tolys, letting out a sigh. The end of this trip. After this, he could finally go home and rest for a long, long while. If his luck did not run out, perhaps he wouldn’t be called back to court for a few more weeks afterwards…  


Peter’s voice piped up amidst the quiet packing. “Do you think ‘Gilbert’ will see us again?” He shoved a book into his satchel.  


“I can’t say,” Tolys sighed. He did not want to think about the Joker and what he would do right now. “The Joker does what he wants.”  


Peter frowned.  


“Why do you want to see the Joker so much,” Leon said, clasping shut his trunk. “It’s the Joker.”  


“‘Gilbert’ is fun! I like his jokes.” Peter stared intently into his open satchel. “I don’t care that he’s the Joker. I like him. I want to be his friend, like Tolys!”  


“We are not friends,” Tolys muttered weakly, keeping his rising antagonism at bay. He was angry at the Joker, and it wasn’t fair of him to take it out on the boys.  


Select annoyances could never be weathered with time. The Joker had been the thorn in Tolys’s side since his college days, constantly appearing in the window with “advantages and opportunities,” as if it were his mission to make Tolys the most successful man in the four dominions. At first glance, they were superflous errands, at second, networking opportunities, which all seemed well and dandy. Any other person would have been grateful, certainly.  


Not Tolys.  


The more Tolys thought about it, the more suspicious he became, but that never deterred the Joker.  


Tolys had become his pawn, and there was little he could do to fight it.  


“Don’t let Bushybrows hear you say that,” Leon scoffed, arms crossed. “‘He’ll throw a fit. You know how he hates the Joker.”  


“I know…” Peter clasped his satchel shut.  


Tolys let his shoulders fall a fraction and sighed. “Well, then. Let’s get to the lobby; we can wait until we land there.”  


The boys nodded, taking up their things and following Tolys out of their cabin. Nothing but the soft taps of their shoes on carpet sounded through the metal hallways in a non-echo. They said nothing, and all eyes followed the swathes of rich blue behind frosted glass panes.

Nothing compared to the heaven-reaching towers of St. George. It stood as the best and the worst of the Spadian dominion: the hub of technological innovation and modernity, continuously obscured by greyer and greyer skies, with hidden alleyways leading to dirt-stained houses and streets and people. Like every proper dominion, Spades did its best to hide the worser parts from foreign dignitaries, but Tolys had long since discovered St. George’s secrets on his own during his college years.  


Looking down onto it from the private airship, Tolys recalled all those afternoons he spent walking its stretches with Felix, and Eduard, on occasion. The city certainly changed in the years since then, but ony in the details, in Tolys’s eyes. It was still the same tall and astonishing metropolis - the crown jewel of Spades.  


Tolys lurched forward from his sitting position suddenly, and Peter’s voice erupted in his ear over the engine.  


“Tolys! Are you staying home with us?”  


He winced from Peter’s volume, but smiled at the boy’s pleading expression. “Only for a week, then I’ll go home.”  


Peter perked up immediately, exclaiming his joy until Leon flicked his forehead. “Quit yelling,” he said, a tad green in the face. He sat on the bench by Tolys, hunched over himself, refusing to look out any window.  


Peter stuck his tongue out in response.  


A few more minutes later, they landed at the private port, and Tolys couldn’t help a small scoff at the formality of the procedure, with the attendants filing around the trio in practiced patterns as they guided them out and took their luggage. Regardless of the pomp and ceremony, both he and the boys were very much grateful to touch solid ground after days of flight, Leon in particular exhaling in a particularly satisfied way. Tolys chuckled inwardly. He reminded him of his first few times flying.  


Unfortunately, the trio were pushed into an open carriage afterwards, and rode the way to the front entrance of the Kirkland estate for a public return.  


Spades liked to stress its maintenance of tradition, or the appearance of it, anyway. Tolys shouldn’t have been surprised that the arrival of the boys wouldn’t be celebrated publicly somehow, nevermind the circumstances behind their return.  


_Don’t care about the details, Laurinaitis, care about your actions._  


Get your maxims out of my head, thought Tolys.  


The formality of the affair warranted an eye roll as dramatic as Felix, but for the sake of appearances, Tolys reeled his disdain inwards as they rounded the buildings towards the iron fence front. The whole front of the estate lay in perfect view of the public, which was gathered by the hundreds by the sounds of it, to witness the return of the two heirs of Spades.  


Both Peter and Leon sat like statues as they rode out before the front entrance, only moving when prompted to exit the carriage and walk up to the front door.  


Leon had his usual stoic expression, but Peter visibly struggled to keep his face nonplussed and aloof, brow twitching and lips tight.  
Tolys sighed.  


The massive white marbled doors swung open as a fanfare played from either side. The crowd behind them cheered and roared, excited and anticipating the approaching figure.  


A single, swift hand motion brought the crowd to silence as the man stepped out into view. Sunlight flashed against bright lenses and the well polished leather shoulder piece bearing the royal crest of Spades.  


With arms out wide and a celebratory tone, he declared:  


“Welcome home to the Duchy of Spades!”


End file.
